Grain door



April 8, 1924. 1,489,229

7 E. c. AVERY v GRAIN DOOR Filed Sept. 28. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 KZQ' ,5", CA/ERY) aHIozmq E. c. AVERY GRAIN Dooa April 8 1924.

Filed Sept- 2a. 1922 2 snaps-sheet 2 Patented Apr. F, 39243..

UKE STATES TENT OFFICE. j

FM'METT C. AVERY, F HUTCHINSON, KANSAS.

GRAIN DOOR.

Application filed September 28, 1922. Serial No. 591,131.

To all whom it may concern: 1 Be it known that I, EMMETT C. AVERY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hutchinson, in the county of Reno and State a of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to grain doors such as are used in railroad cars, and has special to reference to a flexible sliding grain door.

One important object of the invention is to improve the general construction of devices of this character.

A second important object of the invention is to provide a flexible grain door constructed of a series of slats and having improved means for hingedly connecting said slats and at the same time reinforcing the.

same.

A third important object of the invention is to provide improved means for holding such a grain door in its elevated position.

With the above and other objects in view as will be hereinafter apparent, the invention consists in general of certain novel de tails of construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a car body showing the door-way and the improved door applied thereto.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view of the roof of the car showing the latch mechanism.

Figure 5 is a detail view showing two of the slats with their reinforcing chain links, the slats and links being separated.

This grain door is intended to be of the ordinary type having the usual body indicated in general at 10. Such cars are provided with doorways 11 and slidin doors 12 forming the ordinary closures Ior these doorways. However, when the cars are used as grain cars it is not advisable to depend on these sliding doors to retain the grain as they are never tight enough to prevent leakage and the opening of the door would 5 spill the entire car load of grain. The

present invention provides a novel door for this purpose and in carrying this invention into execution apair of opposed channel irons 13 are secured to the side frame members 14 of the doorway and at their upper ends are bent as at 15 and extend back to a position adjacent the longitudinal center of the car. The door proper consists of a series of slats 16. Adjacent each end of the inside of each slat 16 is a reinforcing device which consists of a metallic bar 17 having one end forked as at 18 and is provided with pin receiving apertures 19. The other end of this bar is provided with a tongue 20 having the pin receiving aperture 21 therein, which tongue, when the slats 16 are in position together, enters the fork 18 of the next link so that a pin 22 may be inserted through said apertures and secured by a cotter 23. These bars 17 are provided along one edge with lugs 2% by means of which they may be fixedly secured to the slats 16 and thus reinforce these slats and prevent them from splitting. Moreover, by removing certain of the pins 22 the door may be divided into a plurality of sections. The end slat at the upper end of the door is provided with notches and adjacent the inner end of the guide channel at each side of the door is a plate 25 carrying fixed latch members 26. From this plate project pins 27 on which are fixed springs 28. The end slat is arranged to ride over the inclined surfaces of the latch members 26 and then be pressed down into position so that the latch members 26 engage in the notches 29 of that slat. It will be noted that preferably two doors are provided opposite each other and the latch member is a double member.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the door may either be positioned as shown at the left of Figure 3 or at the right thereof, and also it will be clear that by removing certain of the pins a portion of the door may be detached from the remainder and raised to the position shown at the right of Figure 3, while the remainder of the door partly closes the door opening.

It is to be understood that this door, while described and shown in connection with grain cars, is adapted to be used in any similar structure, as for instance, grain elevators, grain shippers, and the like. Furthermore, wherever the term grain car is used in the specification, it is to be understood that this term is to be read as broad enough to cover other structures wherein such a door may be employed.

There has thus been provided a simple and efficient device of the kind describedand for the purpose specified.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention Without departing from the material spirit there-of. It is not, therefore, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed. 7

Having thus described the invention what isclaimed as new, is 1- The combination with a grain car having a door opening therein, of a pair of confronting channels running up the sides of said door opening and inwardly along the top of the car, said channels constituting guide members, a door composed of a series of slats having their ends slidably engaged in said channels, means for detachably connecting the slats together including chains of links arranged adjacent each side of the door on the inner face thereof, each slat being connected to a respective link of each chain a stationary latch at the inner end of each channel, for receiving the inner slat, and springs above said latches adapted to engage the slat and urge it into engagement with said latches.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EMMETT C. AVERY. Witnesses:

' W. P. SCHULTZ,

Arman M. Busrm. 

